


Study sessions

by Kathee_HDS



Category: Legally Blonde - All Media Types, Legally Blonde - Hach/O'Keefe/Benjamin
Genre: F/M, Filler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kathee_HDS/pseuds/Kathee_HDS
Summary: Elle (and Emmett's) journey through the study sessions, to better grades and... friendship?
Relationships: Emmett Forrest/Elle Woods
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. First session

**Author's Note:**

> Like all of us here, I've seen this too many times for my own good in the past two weeks. So here I am! And here you are...

Once the table was cleared, after much grumbling from Elle, Emmett handed her the heavy lawbook opened at the vocabulary section and sat on the pink chair ruffling through his bag. He pulled out the syllabus and a couple of pens, taking a swig of that energy drink Elle had given him. “Not bad!” he thought, and started planning a pop quiz on the basic vocabulary.

“Do you have any flashcards?” Emmett asked, eyeing around the room.

Elle stood, eyes never leaving the book, and opened a drawer full of color-coordinated pink stationery. “Do you also need pens or post-its?”

“Not pens, but we’ll use the post-its later on”. She handed him the supplies and absent-mindedly grabbed his Red Bull can, before going to sit back on her bed.

Emmett stared dumbfounded as she stole his drink, shrugged, and took another can from the shelf.

“Don’t you need to take notes?” “Maybe later” she answered, her eyes still glued to the page. At least she was taking this seriously, although he wasn’t sure how long that would last.

A couple of hours later, Bruiser hopped on the bed and whined softly, and Elle emerged from her book and eyed the clock. “Oh my god, it’s so late! Come on, Bruiser!” she bookmarked the page and left the book on the bed, pulling her coat from the hanger.

“Where are you going?”

“Bruiser needs his walk, and it’s already half past nine. I’m going to get some brain food. Do you want some?”

“Didn’t you have dinner at the party?”

“I didn’t really have time for that, I just… Went in and then…” her lip trembled a bit “And then went out, I guess” she sighed.

Emmett felt a bit bad for bringing it up. “I’m coming with you, it’ll be good to stretch my legs. Maybe I can solve any doubts you have?”

Another soft yip came from their ankles. “Bruiser says you can tag along, let’s go!”

The walk to the 7-11 was filled with questions about legal terms that Elle insisted were named that way to be confusing on purpose.

“Malum in se and Malum prohibitum? If they’re different, why are they both ‘malum’? Just call them crime in se and crime prohibitum then!”

“’Malum’ means they’re an offense, in latin it means that something is evil. ‘in se’ and ‘prohibitum’ add the information about the crime committed, so you know whether something is inherently bad or just legally forbidden”

“Why then use latin?”

“English terms can have different interpretations. Latin terms, however, have their own weight and aren’t as easily manipulated. Plus you can read a legal text in most languages and still understand the gist of it.”

They entered the store and Elle headed to the sandwiches section.

“You want any?”

“No, I’m not that hungry”

“Come on, you have to eat! You need to replenish your energy, we can’t live on Red Bull alone!”

“Well then, a bag of chips?”

“That’s not nutritive at all! How do you feel about tuna?”

“I-”

“Two tuna and mayo sandwiches, unless you’re allergic, a pair of yoghurts and the bag of crisps as a treat if you eat the rest”

“That’s too mu- I’m not hungry, Elle!”

But Elle was already headed to the cashier, where she added a packet of sugarfree raspberry gum.

“Anything else you want?”

“Water, maybe?”

“I’ve got bottles at the dorm, don’t worry”

All items bagged and paid, Elle handed the book back to Emmett, and grabbed the bags.

“Need any help?”

“No, but you carry the book, I need to unwind a bit.”

Emmett didn’t expect it to be a silent walk back, but he was fresh out of conversation starters, and the wound was too fresh to ask where she’d got that bunny costume. He should’ve known Elle didn’t need any help striking a conversation, and kept her pace while contentedly answering her questions and getting anecdotes in return. The walk back seemed shorter, and when they arrived Bruiser curled on his bed and fell promptly asleep.

He put the flashcards to the side and put a paper on them, but Elle was quick to notice.

“What are those for?”

“I’ve been making some vocab flashcards and some basic tests to help you study. It should help you see your progress objectively and, I hope, keep you motivated.”

“Thank you! That’s so sweet!”

“And useful” he replied, moving papers and pens aside, keeping his head down until he felt his blush recede. It was nice to feel valued, everyone knew that Callahan wasn’t one to compliment.

Once the table was set, he noticed there was only one chair. Elle grabbed her sandwich and took a bite, but she wouldn’t sit.

“Why don’t you…?” he started, pointing at the chair.

“You’re the guest! Please, sit.” she replied, taking another bite.

He took his sandwich and took a bite, but felt a bit foolish by standing as well, so he sat. Elle was pacing around the room, book in one hand and food in the other, muttering as she read.

She wasn’t what he’d expected, at all. His mother always told him to not judge a book by its cover, and while she’d actually acted as vapid as she seemed at first, he was surprised to see that’s not all she was. The bottle of water, now halfway gone, wasn’t pink, but the coaster was. He chuckled and finished his sandwich, reaching for the yoghurt and spoon. Not bad either. All in all it was a good dinner.

“Ready for round two?”

Elle nodded, and helped him put all the plastics in the market bag. She finished the water and threw the bottle in the bag as well.

“I usually separate my trash but it’s ok, I’ll separate all of this tomorrow at the recycling point.”

She dropped the bag in a small bin and turned back to him. “So. Do you want to quiz me or what?”

The quiz went on for over an hour, where Emmett explained the concepts where she failed, and Elle took notes. Midnight came and went, and they were rapidly approaching 1am when Emmett yawned.

“Tired, much? I thought you hadn’t slept since 1992” Started Elle, but her teasing was interrupted by her own yawn.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who’s tired” came the tired answer.

“That’s not fair Em, you know yawns are contagious. What’s one sleepless night more?”

Emmett’s eyebrows shot up at the pet name, but chalked it to Elle being tired. “What indeed.” he replied. “But I still need to go back to my flat and mark some papers for Callahan, due tomorrow”

“You can always bring your papers here, that way this won’t be such a waste of time for you” Elle said, stretching her arms.  
Emmett paused as he reached the door. “It’s not a waste, Elle. You’ve advanced more in a study session than many students in a week.”

“Awww, that’s so sweet Em! Be careful out there ok? Oh, I know! Here, here’s my number. Send me a message when you get home!”

“Won’t you be asleep by then?” he whispered, now standing in the dimly lit corridor.

“Nope, I’ll wait until you get there. Plus, I need to find another place to put all the things from my vanity, it’ll take me a bit” she whispered back. “Go!”

“Ok then. Thanks for the dinner!”

“You’re welcome, now byeeee!”

He smiled once he got to the street. It had been quite productive, he’d realised Elle had the potential to be great, and he wanted to be there to see it when it happened. He saw her by the window, chugging another Red Bull. She waved and when he waved back she showed him her phone and mouthed something, probably reminding him to message her, and then closed the curtains. Her room wasn’t the only one with the lights on, but hers were the only pink curtains.

// Me: Hi Elle, It’s Emmett, I got home.  
// Woods, Elle: Great! I’m almost done fixing the mess you made.  
// Me: I’m sorry for that, but you really needed a space to study.  
// Woods, Elle: I guess ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
// Me: Good night, Elle.  
// Woods, Elle: Gonna break the streak and sleep? ;)  
// Me: Not today.  
// Woods, Elle: See you tomorrow then!  
// Me: Good night.  
// Woods, Elle: 🌙


	2. Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day, class with Callahan and a visit to the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some authors have betas. That's not my case, they need a clean bed and quality kibbles, and my flat is too small.

The next morning was a bit windy, and Emmett reached for his jacket only to remember Elle hadn’t given it back.

// Me: Morning, Woods. You still have my jacket.  
Her answer was instantaneous  
// Woods, Elle: Morning Forrest. How else will I get you to help me with the tutoring?  
// Me: Is that blackmail?  
// Woods, Elle: I’d say leverage, maybe?  
// Me: You’ve kidnapped my jacket and want my services as ransom.  
// Woods, Elle: I’d say I have it hostage.  
// Me: The court adjourns, the jury is still on the fence on that.  
// Woods, Elle: Reconvene later?  
// Me: Library at 4, you’ll need a couple of extra readings after today’s class.  
// Woods, Elle: ☕🕘📚

He turned the coffee maker on and headed for a quick shower and then to get ready for class. It was shaping up to be a long day, but for once it didn’t sound that bad. Corduroy jacket, bag, coffee and keys and he was out the door.

Once he reached Professor Callahan’s desk, he left the graded papers on the right side of the table, and put the new pile in his bag before heading to the classroom which was slowly filling.

As students took their seats Callahan entered swiftly, locking the door behind him and leaving out any tardy student, and like a shark went straight for Elle.

“Miss Woods, what brings you here this morning? Perchance you came to explain to the class the difference between a malum prohibitum or a malum in se.”

Elle aced the question, and Emmett hid a smile behind his laptop. Callahan, on the other hand, looked a bit purple on the face, and started asking questions around the classroom, until a student asked and was promptly kicked out. When the bell rang the class had only 12 students left, and he was proud to see that Elle was one of them.

After the class was done he gave Callahan the notes he’d taken and was heading out when the professor called back at him and assigned him enough tasks to keep him busy for the rest of the day, probably more.

Elle had another class with Ms.Stromwell, and then free period to join her study group, not that she had any. She stopped at the coffee shop to get a large venti and her usual, and headed to the Hair Affair to hang out with Paulette.

After the generous coffee break she decided to visit the library before Emmett got there, and maybe have her reading material already checked out so they’d go directly to the dorms, maybe squeezing in a visit at the supermarket for some snacks. Her plans went astray when, on her way back, she walked past a furniture store and, hit by a sudden inspiration, headed in.

Emmett arrived at the library door at five to four, and was surprised to be the first to arrive. Elle seemed to be one of those “always be the first to arrive” types, but maybe he’d misjudged her. Right as he started unlocking his phone he saw a pink spot heading confidently his way.

“Miss Woods, it’s a pleasure to see you could make it” he said, mockingly  
“I was detained procuring a piece of evidence crucial to the case, Mr. Forrest, and I’m right on time”  
“It’s 4:01 now” he pointed at his phone’s lockscreen.  
“It wasn’t when I arrived” she snickered.  
“And who should put forth evidence to confirm or discredit the witness’ claims?”  
Elle thought for a second, moving aside as to not block the way.  
“I believe… The party who makes the claim should put forth the evidence to back it?”  
“Let’s get your reading materials and then we’ll look up whether you were right.”  
  
It was the first time Elle stepped in Harvard Law Library, and she was surprised to find it a polar opposite to UCLA’s library. They both had high ceilings, but hers was bathed in light, the tables were white and there were few books that shared color, size or shape, much less all three. She stood watching the ledges, uneasy at the uniformity displayed by row after row of grey-bound heavy tomes.  
“What, never been to the Library before?” Emmett poked her ribs  
“Not this one… Everything’s so drab!” she whispered back, looking at the polished wooden tables and the lamps over every seat. “Back at UCLA everything was uniformly lit, why are those halls so dark?”  
“Well, some of these tomes could be damaged if the lights were harsher. Even the lamps on the tables have a glass that filters any damage they could do to whatever documents you’re checking.”  
“Oh… we had a special room where we kept dye and fabric samples, which had a controlled atmosphere and lighting too! And paper is another type of fabric, after all.”  
Emmett packed that tidbit of information to dissect later, and guided her to the Criminal Law section, where they found the assigned readings and a couple in the middle of a heavy make-out session, who by the looks of it weren’t gonna stop anytime soon.  
They reached for the books and walked to the checkout point, both red-faced and silent. Once they were out, Elle pointed out that poorly-lit libraries had perks other than storing books, and smirked at Emmett before asking if he’d ever used the facilities for those kinds of endeavors. A coughing fit was her only answer, and they had to stop on a bench until it calmed.  


“We need to stop by the supermarket on our way back”  
“Really? Are you out of red-bulls already?”  
“No dummy! We’ll need snacks for the study session” she replied, swatting his shoulder “Did you bring papers to grade?”  
“A ton. I could grade them in my sleep but, since I don’t…”  
They were back in the store and, while Emmett was trying to decide which chips to get, Elle grabbed enough food for snacks, dinner, and then some.

The walk to the dorms felt different with the sunny streets full of cars and people, but all too soon they were back to Elle’s room, he in her chair, she cross-legged on the bed, taking notes from the library books in her fuzzy pink notebook.  
“I haven’t seen that notebook since the first day!”  
“Yeah, it wasn’t… serious enough” she answered sadly. “I still use it to structure the notes I’ll type on the laptop later.”  
Emmett found himself unable to refute that comment. Obviously fluffy pink wasn’t serious, but it was very much her, and being serious didn’t stop her from wearing pink every day… Not that he was going to be mean about something that clearly upset her.  
He was going over a paper with the lousiest penmanship he’d ever seen when someone knocked at the door.

“Package for Ms. Woods” said a short man pushing a cart with a package as big as him.  
“You’ve got the right room, let me sign this real fast” Elle sprung from the bed and signed with the same pink pen she was taking notes with. “Thank you, and have a nice day!” her enthusiasm bubbled over and she was soon squealing at the box.

“What’s that, Elle?”  
“It’s a surprise! Now hand me that cutter over there” With expert hands she cut the plastic and unboxed…  
“A chair?” Emmett said, incredulous.  
“Yep! I don’t mind studying on the bed, but I’d rather we both sit while having dinner.”  
Emmett stared at her speechless. She was banking so much on their study meet-ups she’d gotten another chair for her room –which was all good, since he didn’t feel comfortable sitting on her bed, and having her stand behind him or towering over her while answering her questions left him a bit dizzy afterwards–.

“This one’s for you, I got it to complete your aesthetic” she said, pointing at his jacket.  
“I don’t know if I should be insulted by that or start carrying the chair everywhere” he chuckled.  
“If I had known you’d want to carry it around I would’ve gotten you an aluminium, foldable one!”  
“You should’ve either way, this one is going to take up a lot of space in your room...” He looked around, and although this dorm room was bigger than his back in the day, another chair took a good chunk of space.  
“Shut up and try it! You can even use it to hang your bag here” she pointed at a weird shape on the back rest.  
“Wow” The chair was sturdy and didn’t feel like plywood and, when he hung his bag and got up, it didn’t even bulge. “Thanks, Elle”  
“Thank you for helping me out, it means the world to me”.

Their study sessions became a daily event, except for when Callahan needed Emmett’s assistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for getting here! I hope you enjoyed this, and will love to get your feedback.
> 
> Any ideas on how to follow this up will be welcome, I'm also planning a couple of one-shots, let's see how they go!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I've got a couple more chapters planned, but suggestions are welcome!  
> Finde me on tumblr at proficientatfreakness :D


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